Quote cards featuring movie and television series characters and other celebrities supposedly criticizing the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte have become viral online. These are fake.
The fictitious quote cards began proliferating two days after Duterte was arrested on March 11 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on the strength of a warrant coursed through the International Criminal Police Organization.
Breaking Bad’s Saul Goodman
On March 13, a quote card bearing the logo of American news outfit Fox News and featuring Saul Goodman, a fictional character as a criminal defense lawyer in the American TV show Breaking Bad, went viral. It carried his supposed statement that the ICC violated international law by arresting Duterte. It was posted by a Facebook (FB) user in a group named DUTERTE Diehard Supporter’s International.
The statement attributed to Goodman says:
“The ICC clearly violates international law by arresting Mr. Duterte. Article 12 of UN General Assembly Resolution 69 clearly states that any human excreta should be preserved legally as a coprolite. Hence, this situation makes Mr. Duterte’s case a blatant violation of human rights. With that being said, I am confident that Mr. Duterte will be freed and sent back to the Philippines, provided that a proper oral argument through a satisfying public fellatio is presented before the judges.”
Bob Odenkirk, who played Goodman, has not issued any statement on Duterte’s case on his social media accounts. Neither did Fox News publish this graphic.
HTGAWM’s Annalise Keating and Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods
Two days later, on March 15, FB users circulated another set of quote cards attributed to two other fictional lawyers: Annalise Keating and Elle Woods. The cards carried the same sentiment on Duterte’s arrest. The quote supposedly from Elle Woods was published by Nutribun Republic, a satirical and parody FB page.
These quote cards showed Keating’s and Woods’ pictures, as well as international news organization CNN’s logo, and the text:
“The ICC just made a grave mistake. The Philippines withdrew from Rome Statute in 2019, meaning this arrest is illegal — a blatant violation of Philippines’ sovereignty and rule of law. This isn’t justice, it’s political persecution. Free Duterte now—or face the consequences.”
Viola Davis, the actress who portrayed Keating in the Emmy award-winning series “How to Get Away with Murder,” has not said this in any of her social media channels nor in any fora.
Reese Witherspoon, who played the lead role of Woods in the movie “Legally Blonde,” has also not said this.
CNN did not publish such quote cards.
Suits’ Harvey Specter
The following day, March 16, a fabricated quote card credited to another “reel” attorney – Harvey Specter of the American TV show “Suits” – went viral.
The graphic similarly bore the CNN logo and a picture of the character. The quote card read:
“You can’t arrest a former head of state based on politics. That’s not justice—that’s a circus. And I don’t do circuses. You wanna go after a former president? Then do it the right way. Otherwise, don’t do it at all.”
Gabriel Macht, who played the role of Specter, did not say this. Likewise, CNN did not author the above quote card.
Johnny Sins
A reader sent via the VERA Files Misinformation Tipline a graphic that claims adult film performer Johnny Sins – whose real name is Steven Wolfe – has defended Duterte. Johnny Sins supposedly said:
“What the ICC did to Mr. Rodrigo Duterte was illegal. I’m willing to offer my services to him for free.”
This quote card is fabricated. Sins/Wolfe has made no such statement on any of his social media channels.
‘Atty. Robert Kardashian’
On March 18, another user of the VERA Files Misinformation Tip Line asked to verify a quote card attributed to a certain Atty. Robert Kardashian, supposedly a United Nations Human Rights Council rapporteur.
It used an image of the actor David Schwimmer, and carried the quote:
“Rodrigo Duterte’s incarceration by the ICC would be a blatant disregard for his rights, given his age and health. International law upholds the dignity of individuals, including elderly persons, and prolonged detention without due consideration for these factors would be inhumane. The legal process must be fair, unbiased, and not weaponized for political purposes. Free Duterte Now!”
The graphic is patently fake. There is no “Robert Kardashian” in the UNHRC’s list of special rapporteurs. Kardashian was a friend and the defense lawyer of American football player and actor OJ Simpson.
The image used is of Schwimmer portraying Kardashian in a TV dramatization of Simpson’s murder trial.
The posts were mostly satirical in nature and garnered thousands of engagements. However, netizens have reposted the graphic cards outside of the original pages and groups in which they were shared, leading others to believe that these were actual statements by real people.
VERA Files has earlier debunked other fake quote cards related to Duterte’s arrest.
Take a moment to check if a post is real or not before sharing them. Highly-polarizing issues such as Duterte’s arrest are opportunities taken advantage of by disinformation peddlers.
At least 17 posts from FB users and pages including Nutribun Republic (created August 29, 2014, as The Legacy of Miriam Palma Defensor) and Critico Chavacano (March 6, 2016, as Zara De Zamboanga) published the fake quote cards. They collectively garnered 63, 280 reactions, 3,903 comments, and 23,084 shares.
